Ethiopia said Sunday it will host the Confederation of East and Central African Football Association (CECAFA) Senior Challenge Cup in December this year.

Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zanzibar are due to participate in the senior challenge cup, said Ashebir W. Giorgis, president of the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF).

Ethiopia is expected to be a strong side, said Ashebir.

Ethiopia hosted the match in 1987 and 2004, and won the event three times including last year's edition, he said.

Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi, an Ethiopia-born Saudi tycoon, who sponsored the previous two cups, will also provide 600,000 US dollars in sponsorship for the 2006 event, said Ashebir.

Al Amoudi has become the 77th richest person in the world and the top billionaire in Africa with a net worth of 6.9 billion U.S. dollars, according to Forbes magazine.

Ashebir also said his federation is making efforts to ensure Ethiopia host CECAFA Club Cup in the near future.

Almost unheard of in African football, the Ethiopian national team is composed entirely of players based at clubs within the country's borders. The nation's most famous footballer is Beruk Degu.

Ethiopia produces some of the finest athletes of the world, especially middle-distance and long-distance runners.

Source: Xinhua